Parenchymal calcification is associated with the neurological prognosis in patients with congenital rubella syndrome

Congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) results from maternal rubella virus infection in early pregnancy. Abnormal neuroimaging findings have been analyzed in a small number of CRS patients in the past; however, their clinical significance has been poorly addressed. Therefore, we have investigated the neuroimaging findings of 31 patients with CRS from previous studies. The most common finding was parenchymal calcification, which was observed in 18 of 31 patients (58.1%). A multivariable logistic regression model showed that it was associated with psychomotor or mental retardation (p = 0.018), suggesting that parenchymal calcification in CRS could be a prognostic factor.     

Nichterosive und erosive gastroösohageale Refluxerkrankung

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate long-term results of laparoscopic anterior semifundoplication in patients with nonerosive (NERD) and erosive (ERD) gastroesophageal reflux disease.PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study includes the period from May 1997 to July 2005. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy was performed in all 190 patients. The severity of reflux esophagitis was classified according to Savary and Miller (grades I-IV). A standardized questionnaire was used for follow-up, and the modified symptomatic DeMeester score was assessed.RESULTS: 58.5 years of age (range 27-80), patients with nonerosive reflux disease (n=83) were significantly older than those with erosive reflux disease (n=107) (48 years range 15-84) (p=0.0001). Patients with NERD had a lower modified symptomatic DeMeester score postoperatively of 0 (range 0-4) than patients with ERD, of 1 (range 0-5), though without statistical significance (p=0.151).CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic anterior semifundoplication leads to comparable symptomatic long-term results in both NERD and ERD. Anterior semifundoplication is a good therapeutic option for selected patients with persistent reflux-associated symptoms and endoscopically negative esophagitis.     

三康胶囊对高原移居者运动后NO乳酸及血氨的影响

目的探讨三康胶囊对高原人体运动后一氧化氮(NO)及其合酶(NOS)、乳酸(BLA)、血氨(Ammo)的影响.方法选择进驻海拔3 700 m高原1年的10名健康青年,口服三康胶囊15 d,在服药前后分别采用功量自行车进行渐增负荷运动,测定其血清 NO、NOS、BLA及Ammo含量.结果服药后较服药前运动后NO水平[(101.02±6.49) Vs (77.10±8.11)]和NOS活性[(71.40±7.23) Vs (56.29±6.28)]均增高, BLA[(7.58±0.79)Vs (6.13±0.74)]和Ammo[(80.11±9.44)Vs (69.38±8.86)]降低,有非常显著性差异(P＜0.01).结论 三康胶囊能增强高原移居者运动后NOS活性,加速乳酸清除,减缓运动疲劳的发生.     

Expression of bcl-6 and CD10 protein is associated with longer overall survival and time to treatment failure in follicular lymphoma

Follicular lymphomas (FLs) are a heterogeneous group of tumors, but prognostic factors are evaluated insufficiently in this common hematologic neoplasm. While bcl-6 and CD10 are expressed characteristically in FLs, their significance for biologic behavior of FL has not been studied previously. Samples from 73 patients with FL and clinical follow-up from 7 to 231 months were evaluated by immunohistochemical analysis. Patients with high levels of bcl-6 expression had favorable overall survival (OS) (P = .003), disease-specific survival (DSS) (P = .033), and time to treatment failure (P = .003) compared with patients with low levels of bcl-6 expression. Multivariate analysis showed that the results for OS, DSS, and time to treatment failure were independent of the international prognostic index. Patients with CD10+ FLs also had longer OS (P = .001), DSS (P = .007), and time to treatment failure (P = .004), and grade 1 FL was associated with better OS (P = .01) and a statistical trend for longer DSS (P = .05) and time to treatment failure (P = .05), but these results were not independent of bcl-6 expression or the international prognostic index in multivariate analysis.     

Biological Activity of a Mouse-Human Chimeric Immunoglobulin G2 Antibody to Cryptococcus neoformans Polysaccharide

The variable regions of the heavy and light chains of the protective murine monoclonal antibody (MAb) 2H1 (m2H1) were expressed with the human constant region genes for immunoglobulin G2 (IgG2) and kappa, respectively, to construct a chimeric antibody (ch2H1). ch2H1 retains the specificity of the parent MAb, exhibits biological activity, and lacks the toxicity of the parent murine IgG1 in chronically infected mice.     

Ischaemic episodes of less than 5 minutes produce preconditioning but not stunning in the isolated rat heart

The aim of the present study was to examine whether ischaemic episodes of less than 5 min could induce preconditioning or stunning in the isolated rat heart. Hearts were subjected to total global ischaemia of 1, 2 and 4 min followed by 10 min of reperfusion before an 18-min main ischaemic period and 30 min of reperfusion. The effects on physiology, purine metabolism and anaerobic glycolysis were compared with a control group subjected to the main ischaemia only. The brief ischaemic episodes did not produce stunning based on the recovery of left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP) and heart rate (HR) product during the first reperfusion. Preconditioning of 11–14% increased recovery of LVDP x HR during the second reperfusion was observed in the 1- and 4-min group. In the 2-min group a low repayment of flow debt during the first reperfusion was associated with a slightly reduced recovery of LVDP x HR compared to the other preconditioned groups during the second reperfusion. Only in the 4-min group was preconditioning associated with fewer breakdown products of the purine nucleotide pool (adenosine) and anaerobic glycolysis (lactate) in both tissue and effluate after the main ischaemia. Preconditioning (reflected in recovery of function) could be produced with ischaemic episodes of less than 5 min that did not produce stunning. Thus, stunning is probably not the primary cause of preconditioning.     

Meditative and mind-body practice among patients with genitourinary malignancy

Introduction and objectiveResearch on the utility of meditative and mind-body (MB) practices has increased dramatically in the last two decades and both have been suggested as useful adjuncts in coping with stressors associated with cancer survivorship. There exists little data on use among genitourinary (GU) cancer survivors. This study seeks to describe meditative and MB utilization among GU cancer survivors.MethodsAnalysis of data from the 2012 and 2017 National Health Interview Survey was conducted. Patients aged 40 and older reporting a history of any cancer diagnosis (including 3 GU cancers) were included in the analysis. We explored questions about meditative and MB practices in the past 12 months. Complex Samples Logistic regression was performed to compare the relationship between cancer status and use of these practices.ResultsSelf-reported meditative practices were more prevalent in 2017 (17%) than in 2012 (5%). Patients who self-reported a cancer diagnosis of any kind were significantly more likely to utilize meditative practices. Patients with kidney cancer were significantly more likely to meditate and trended towards higher MB utilization. In contrast, bladder cancer patients were less likely to meditate and use MB practices. Increases in meditation were greater than those seen for MB in all groups.ConclusionsMeditative and MB practices increased in prevalence between 2012 and 2017 with notable heterogeneity between cancer types. Given the potential benefit, more broad incorporation into survivorship programs may be warranted. Future work should explore the significance of this heterogeneity and the utility of these practices to patients with urologic malignancy.     

Design, synthesis, and activity of 2,6-diphenoxypyridine-derived factor Xa inhibitors.

A novel series of 2,6-diphenoxypyridines has been designed to inhibit factor Xa, a serine protease strategically located in the coagulation cascade. The evolution from the photochemically unstable bisamidine (Z,Z)-BABCH to potent bisamidine compounds with a pyridine heterocycle as the core scaffold has been achieved. The most potent compound in the series, 6h, has a Ki for human factor Xa of 12 nM. The selectivity of 6h against bovine trypsin and human thrombin was greater than 90- and 1000-fold, respectively. Two proposed modes of binding of 6h to factor Xa are made based on the crystal structures of 6h by itself and of 6h bound to bovine trypsin.     

Aberrant crypt focus promotion and glucose intolerance: correlation in the rat across diets differing in fat, n-3 fatty acids and energy

McKeown-Eyssen (Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prevent., 3, 687-695, 1994) and Giovannucci (Cancer Causes Control, 6, 164-179, 1995), noting the striking similarity in lifestyle risk factors for colorectal cancer and insulin resistance, proposed that the hyperinsulinemia, glycemia and hypertriglyceridemia associated with insulin resistance promotes colon cancer. To compare the effect of diet on colon cancer promotion and insulin resistance in the F344 rat, we assessed the effect of fat, n-3 fatty acids and energy in pairwise comparisons on average size of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) and on glucose intolerance in the same animals in a single experiment. Diets high in fat and energy increased and diets with increased n-3 fatty acids and calorie restriction decreased both ACF growth and glucose intolerance compared with control diets. The measures of promotion of colon cancer and insulin resistance were strongly correlated (n = 98, r = 0.67, P < 0.001). In addition, both were highly correlated with daily energy intake (r = 0.62 and 0.66) and were also correlated with basal (post-prandial) insulin, glucose and triglycerides (r = 0.31-0.53, P < 0.01). We concluded that ACF growth and glucose intolerance are correlated for a wide range of diets and that increased circulating energy (glucose and triglycerides) may lead to both colon cancer promotion and insulin resistance.